Mitsubishi Heavy shares jump on favorable ruling in $6.7-billion claim

TOKYO (Reuters) – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) <7011.T> jumped over 6 percent on Tuesday after an international arbitrator ruled in its favor over a $6.7 billion compensation claim against the company related to the shutdown of California’s San Onofre nuclear plant.

Southern California Edison (SCE), a unit of Edison International , had raised a claim with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) demanding compensation from MHI.

Both MHI and SCE said the ICC has ordered the former to pay $125 million to the nuclear plant owners. The arbitrator also ordered the plant owners to pay $58 million in legal fees to MHI.

“With the end of the U.S. nuclear legal dispute, which had been feared to weigh on MHI’s net profit, the company’s short-term risks are expected to be cleared,” Mizuho Securities analyst Masanori Wakae said in a report.

SCE was seeking $6.7 billion, accusing MHI of contract violations for failing to properly design or quickly repair two steam generators it built for the utility’s now-closed San Onofre nuclear plant.

One of the steam generators, which came with a 20-year warranty, developed a small radioactive coolant leak after a year, forcing SCE to take the plant off-line in early 2012.

SCE announced retirement of San Onofre in June 2013 and filed the arbitration claim against MHI with ICC four months later.

MHI maintained that its contractual liability on the matter is limited to up to $137 million.

“We had hoped the award would more accurately reflect the true magnitude of damage caused by Mitsubishi’s defective steam generators,” said SCE President Ron Nichols in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the arbitration panel concluded that the contract’s prescribed liability limit should be respected and no additional award can be granted despite the harm caused,” he said.

In morning trade, MHI shares rose 6.4 percent to 477.5 yen, even as the broader market’s <.TOPX> fell 0.2 percent.

(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Vyas Mohan)